Inside the Boxscore - Team 134, Copper Bowl

Late in the 2013 Copper Bowl there was a two play sequence that epitomized Team 134. First, Shane Morris threw a nice pass to Jeremy Gallon for a 22 yard gain. That catch moved Gallon past Braylon Edwards into first place for most receiving yards in a season for a Michigan receiver. On the very next play, Morris threw an interception that was returned to the Michigan 7 yard line, thereby proving that we cannot have nice things, at least not this year. I guess you could extend that sequence by a couple plays to include the resulting Kansas State touchdown. Too often, especially early in the season, the offense put the defense in difficult situations and the defense was not able to make a stop. We blamed the offense and Al Borges for the early season woes that extended throughout the season. But that just masked the fact that our defense was not up to the standards of the traditional Michigan Defense. The Ohio game and this Copper Bowl finally exposed our defense. Digging through a boxscore to try to explain defensive deficiency is a difficult task. But that's what I'll try to do.

Burst of Impetus
* Michigan won the toss and rightly deferred. The idea is to let the game get started and let our true freshman QB - in his first start - calm down before throwing him to the wolves. On K-State's first drive, they faced four third downs. They converted all four. The first time our defense stopped K-State on 3rd down, we were down 21-6 and there was only ~6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. In fact, on K-State's 2nd and 3rd drives, they never even got to third down before scoring TDs. In a game where we needed everyone to step up and help out our backup QB in his first start, the only one who stepped up was our backup QB.

Who's on First?
* 24 players recorded a defensive stat for Michigan. K-State had 19 players record a defensive stat. This is something I've harped on all season long. On the first drive of the game, I saw numerous subs get into the game. Are you telling me that our guys are getting tired 10 minutes into the game? I want the best guys out there who give us the best chance to win. I want guys to get into the flow of the game, read the queues and start figuring out the offense. Instead, there is a constant revolving door where guys are being shuttled in and out before they get a chance to get into the flow of the game or break a sweat and they spend more energy sprinting to and fro the sideline than they do playing the game.
* Of the 9 players who recorded 4 or more tackles, 4 were middle linebackers. Have you ever seen another team split playing time between the first and second string MLBs?
* We only recorded 4 TFLs, as K-State's line was continually driving our line off the line of scrimmage. I can understand a beast like Carlos Hyde getting significant YAC, but K-State's starting halfback was doing the same thing, and he's about 5' 7", 160 pounds.
* Spielman said something about how he asked Mattison who his best defender was this year, and the first thing out of Mattison's mouth was "Frank Clark." Against Ohio State, Frank Clark had one tackle. Against Kansas State, Frank Clark had one tackle. When your best defender is averaging 1 tackle per game in his last two, something is wrong.
* Say what you will about our defensive backs, they did have a penchant for getting interceptions and breaking up passes this season. Against Kansas State, we had 0 interceptions, 0 passes broken up, 0 passes blocked, and only 1 QH. The DBs were giving up way too much cushion, and even then, Countess was beat deep on a double move. The turf looked suspect, which may have caused some of the hesitancy, but at some point don't you have to change your cleats or your gameplan to account for that?
* In the previews, we read how K-State's main offensive weapon was WR Tyler Lockett. So naturally, UofM single covered him all game and gave him a huge cushion on critical third and short situations. I asked this of Borges earlier in the year, and it applies equally well to Mattison after this game, did he bother to scout K-State, at all?

Lefty
* Shane Morris finished 24 of 38 for 196 yards, exceeding all sane expectations for his first start. He did throw a late INT, but that's understandable. The high completion percentage was a result of numerous short throws, but for the most part, he was accurate and on target. The one thing that was missing was a little more accuracy on a couple long balls.
* Morris also showed decent pocket awareness, only getting sacked one time.

20 Pound Cheeseburgers
* As Ace pointed out, our two leading rushers were our QB and Tight End. Our running backs should be made to watch how K-State's little Hubert ran. I get it that the offensive line generated zero push, but eventually someone has to break a tackle or make someone miss. Our 4 RBs combined for 8 carries and 13 yards. Our offense was slightly better in not giving up so many TFLs, but that's because we rarely had the ball. K-State had 5 TFLs for a total of 13 yards lost. Hey, I'm looking for positives, no matter how small.

V. Sinha Legends Jersey
* Jeremy Gallon caught 9 balls for 89 yards with a long of 22. He set two Michigan records in the process, one for consecutive games with a reception at 39, and the other for single-season receiving yards. All season, we were concerned that Gardner was focusing in too much on Gallon. Well, 9 of Morris' 24 completions went to Gallon. Could it be, the guy just gets open and catches the [email protected] ball, garnering trust from his QBs? The biggest question mark next year - besides the offensive line, of course - will be who steps up to take Gallon's place? Even if it's by committee, that's a lot of offense that needs to be replaced.

Norf and Souf
* Norfleet had one nice end-around (which technically was a pass reception) for a 9 yard gain, and promptly never saw the ball again. Thanks, Al.

Meh Teams
* Yeah, they were bad. We did average a net of 40.6 yards on 5 punts, so at least that unit performed well, but the kick coverage was atrocious. Meanwhile, our punt return team got an incomplete grade, as K-State only punted once.

I'm an international umpire
* Brought this section back just to comment on the Umpire, Matt Jordan, who showed more athletic ability than anyone on our defense when he dove into the pile after K-State's first fumble to see who made the recovery. Dudes got mad skillz.

100%BLU
I was born in 1970. I started going to games in 1976. Michigan always won. I went to the Rose Bowl in '78 and saw Michigan lose for the first time, by 7 points to Warren Moon and the Huskies. That day I learned that Michigan doesn't always win, but for the next two decades, you could be sure of one thing - Michigan would have a shot at winning at the end, even if you extend that definition to include a Hail Mary / on-side kick combo.

To quantify that feeling, I went back through the Bentley records. In the 70's, Michigan lost 2 games by double digits, and the worst loss was by 16 points to Minnesota. In the 80's, Michigan lost 7 games by double digits, and three of those were the year Harbaugh broke his arm. In the 90's, Michigan lost 10 games by double digits, with the two worst losses being by 20 points. In the aughts, we lost 17 games by double digits. The worst was a 35 point loss to Ohio in RichRod's first season, but the game I remember most as being a wake-up call was the 2002 Citrus Bowl loss to Tennessee by 28 points. How could a good Michigan team lose by 4 touchdowns? It just didn't make sense. Lloyd got the program back on the right track until '07, when Oregon embarrassed us by 32. Now we're in whatever this decade is called, and so far, through 4 seasons, we've already had 13 double digit losses. Yes, 6 of those were in Rich Rod's last season, but we had 3 last year and 2 this year. Brady has to turn things around in a hurry if we don't want to experience another decade worse than the last.

Which brings me to my final questions from this season. First, what do I want for Michigan football? I'm a realist, at least sometimes, and understand that we're not going to win every game, but I want us to be competitive in every game. I want to think we have a chance of winning just about every game. How does that happen? In my 43 years of watching Michigan football, the answer is not having a modern offense that can outscore the other guys, it's having a shutdown defense that can keep you in the game when your offense is struggling either due to turnovers or your QB having a bad day accuracy-wise. Can Borges construct an offense to score enough points? Frankly, I don't think that's the right question. Rather, can Mattison build a dominant defense? He has before. I think he will be able to again. It just takes time. We've got to have safeties he can trust, lock down cover corners, the Man in the middle, size up front, and a healthy JMFR wreaking havoc from the wings. Can we get there in 2014? Time will tell...

Comments

We won because of our defense and Oline back in the day...and wouldn't get blown out because of it...the one good thing i saw from your data is that we did only have 2 double digit losses this year...whereas richrod's last year we had 6...i think these oline recruits will bring us back...think about it...back in the day if you started on michigan oline...you played in the nfl...QB too...anyway...i have been a huge hoke supporter...but i am nervous trusting him to teach our lines.....

Average to below average O and D lines is my assesment as well. These are the two weakest areas of the team, IMO. These are the two worst possible areas to be weak in and I think we see the results. Our rush offense is absolutely terrible and the D line threatens no one.

I like the write-up, though I take issue with the assertion that the defense was poor all season. They played reasonably well against most competition, but it isn't an elite unit and really good offenses like OSU and KSU will find their weaknesses and exploit them. Honestly, I think UM can win a bunch of games just having an A- defense if the offense can rack up more than 300 yards a game. They struggled early on to stop KSU and that is disheartening, but this is still a decent unit that should improve next year. Recruiting is essential, but so is letting the young guys mature and grow into their positions.

for the great work all season ST3. You do a great job of analysing and put things in perspective really well.

Hopefully the defense takes a big step forward next year. I think a big part of that will be for Mattison to be able to trust the safeties. I think its possible that losing Kovacs made him far more reluctant to blitz.

I agree on the substituion pattern. It is out of control. I don't mind guys getting spelled every now and again, but it is a constant shuttling in and out of guys. I'd like to see the best players playing and getting into the flow of the game. The linebacker substituions are way too frequent. It's something to revisit in the offseason along with running press coverage and the possibiility that Stribling and Lewis should have a shot at taking the job of Countess and Taylor. I feel like Peppers can come in and play safety or NB. We'll see.

I'm an optimist, but I have concerns about us in all phases of the game. There's a lot to work on going forward.

On the defense, you are correct that that unit did not pull its weight last night, and to key on the need for a solid defense going forward. While we were oh so close in games this year, a dominant defense would have given us the margins we needed - instead, we experienced late collapses on that side of the ball too often.

We are in a decade long slide from where we once were. We have had 3 head coaches and countless coordinators. This shit has to stop. There is no F'ing way this team should have lost 6 games. And there's no way in hell we shouldn't be able to rush the ball, even a little. Hell, Eastern Michigan could run the ball better.

I put the majority of the blame on the coaches. I agree with ST3 with regards to the massive substitutions on defense. I don't understand that philosophy at all. If you don't sub your DBs because you want them to develop a rhythm, why is the DL or LBs any different?

I think the thing that bothered me the most about the bowl game was the body language of the defense and special teams. Guys didn't get off blocks, they guessed at the wrong gaps, and they seem to be flat as hell. What in God's name did we do for a month of bowl prep?

I'm terrified that I'm starting to see kids not playing for these coaches. I hope I am wrong.

Thanks for what you do, man. I love this column, and reading your bio helps me realize why it is I do -- you think the same way I do about Michigan football, and that probably comes from having gone through a similar personal history with it as me. Looking forward to continuing to read it in the (rosier -- by which I mean Rose-ier) seasons to come!

I liked Shane's perfomance and at no point in that game did I find myself thinking, "Man, I wish Devin was in there". So, that is a positive take away and I think the team will be better off with Morris or a QB of that style in the long run.

The board is an emotional mess (deservedly) so I'll pose this question here: Did anyone else think that clock management was pathetic in this game?

I read a few previews before the game and I think Brian's specifically mentioned that KSU likes to win the TOP and runs a slower offense. If they're shaving 6-7 minutes per drive and scoring, and the team is down 2-3 possessions, why not try the hurry up offense? I realize that we have a freshman QB but they must have done some 2 minute drills for bowl prep? At that point in the game, even if you score every possession, you lose because the defense isn't stopping KSU's offense.

Also, I honestly believe that Snyder took his foot off the gas pedal in the second half. They could have run up the score on us and chose not to.

Now we're in whatever this decade is called, and so far, through 4 seasons, we've already had 13 double digit losses. Yes, 6 of those were in Rich Rod's last season, but we had 3 last year and 2 this year.

I count 11 double-digit losses - the six in 2010, one in '11 (MSU), two in '12 (Bama and Nebraska) and two in '13 (MSU and KSU). Were there others?